Not sure if this belongs here or elsewhere, but I heard this and this unsurprising news on the radio this morning:

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A U.S. government study has found that only one in three children in middle school and junior high school show proficiency in science. Unfortunately, it gets worse for kids in high school. Many studies have indicated U.S. teens trail peers from many countries in math scores.

...

The results are disturbing:

• Only one in three children in middle school and junior high school show proficiency in science.

• Only one in five graduating students from high school showed proficiency in science.

• Specifically, in 2009, 34% of fourth grade children performed at or above the “proficient” level in science, while only 30% of eighth graders performed at or above the "proficient" level and, even worse, only 21% of those 12th graders participating in the study could perform at or above the "proficient" level in science.

• In fourth grade, 28% of students could not meet the “basic” level of science knowledge; in eighth grade 37% of students couldn’t meet the "basic" science level; and in 12th grade, 47% of students couldn’t achieve a "basic" level of science.

Only between 1% and 2% show a strong knowledge of “advanced” scientific concepts.

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State science standards failed to treat evolution adequately in a number of ways, according to the report — by including evolution only in courses that are electives or in guidelines not subject to state assessment, as in Missouri, Tennessee, and Maryland; by suggesting that evolution is "somehow not quite as 'scientific' as other concepts," as in Colorado, Missouri, Montana, and West Virginia; or by unnecessarily delaying evolution until high school, as in Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, and Nebraska.

Maybe FL can explain why this is the case, particularly in places like Louisiana and Texas.

--------------we IDists rule in design for the flagellum and cilium largely because they do look designed. Bilbo

The only reason you reject Thor is because, like a cushion, you bear the imprint of the biggest arse that sat on you. Louis